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Opium funds Maoist terror

Maoists today swear as much by the manifesto as by opium to spread their revolution in Marxist stronghold of West Bengal. What began as illegal cultivation of opium over huge tracts of land in Nadia and Murshidabad districts has turned out to be a lucrative greenfield for Maoists to raise funds to buy weapons and ammunition and support its squads operating in other parts of south Bengal.
The Sunday operation in Hariharpara in Murshidabad that led to the capture of some Maoists has brought to light that the ultras, who for long have been raising funds from Jharkhand and Bihar to carryout operations in Bengal, are now developing their own source of income from opium fields. The cultivation started around eight years back, when drug peddlers from UP, Bihar and Jharkhand resorted to illegal cultivation to collect gums from poppy seeds.
But things began changing three years ago, as Maoists established base and started operations in Naoda, Balia, Domkul, Tehatta and Karimpur in Nadia and Hariharpara in Murshidabad districts. Soon, with the help of villagers, the Maoists established control over the illegal opium business.
At present, the intelligence agency estimates that more than 10,000 bighas of land in Murshidabad and around 12,000 bighas of land in Nadia are under illegal opium cultivation. Sources say, Maoists are using middlemen to compel the landowners to part with their landholdings on a yearly lease between Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 depending upon the scale of cultivation.
It is learnt that on one bigha 3-4 kg of gum from poppy seeds are produced. The Maoists then sell 1 kg of this gum between Rs 25,000 and Rs 35,000.